11-19-2024
On September 27, the University of Florida (UF) received a formal Title IX complaint against its head basketball coach, Todd Golden. The complaint describes sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, and stalking toward UF students. The Alligator, UF’s student newspaper, reviewed the complaint and noted that it details unwanted sexual advances on Instagram, requests for sexual favors, Golden sending photos and videos of his genitalia, and instances of stalking. Golden allegedly took pictures of these women walking or driving and sent those pictures to the women. He also purportedly showed up at locations where he knew these women were. Sometimes, he liked photos on Instagram, then un-liked the pictures after it was clear they read his DMs.
The Alligator interviewed two women who confirmed the type of behavior alleged in the complaint. The women requested anonymity out of fear for their safety. The first woman, a former UF student, reported that Golden stalked her “more than 10 times.” On one occasion, after she posted her location on Instagram, Golden messaged her that he was in the area waiting for her. She said Golden sent her unsolicited pictures of his genitalia. She asserted that Golden became more and more aggressive. She perceived it as a grooming. The second woman, also a former student, corroborated that Golden liked many of her older Instagram posts at once to get him noticed and then went back to unlike them, probably to avoid suspicion. She said he told multiple women that they were “his drug” or “his good look charm” before games. The two women stated that Golden kept contact with them for over a year but unfollowed them after UF began looking into his behavior. Both women also allege that UF’s Director of Basketball Strategy and Analytics and the Special Assistant were complicit.
Golden did not comment directly on the UF’s Title IX investigation due to its confidentiality, but he did state that he retained a defamation attorney to assess potential claims.